Behind The Lines
by Lee Aiden
Summary: When Marty Helmsley, Triple H's daughter, yearns for more excitement in her WWE Career, she gets more than she bargained for when she forms an extremely secret alliance with the members of The Shield. But as the friendship grows and the secret unfolds, what will happen when two of the members of the group fall for the same girl? More importantly, will she fall for them, too?
1. Prologue

_The name's Marty. Marty Helmsley._  
_Well, that's what I'm known as to the fans of the WWE Universe. My real name is Elise Levesque. I'm the daughter of Paul Levesque, better known to the same fans as Triple H. And somehow, you've stumbled across this. So obviously, you're somewhat interested in one of my most recent life predicaments._  
_So, if you'll allow it, I'd like to tell you my story._  
_Too many times in my life I have been pushed down and walked over. For some reason I'm still not completely sure of, my time in this world hasn't been the easiest, or the most enjoyable walk in the park. I've got mild autism. I lost CM Punk, the man I once called my best friend and my first crush to a little girl named AJ Lee, who couldn't keep her hormones under control. And my father, the one last person in the wrestling company who was always there for me, is currently in the hospital after a broken arm thanks to a fat, disgusting gorilla who goes by the name of Brock Lesnar._  
_But I've still managed to fight back and make a name for myself. I have new friends. Better friends. Hopefully a better and brighter future. I'm the WWE Champion once more, so that's obviously a start._  
_Though, I still feel like there's a little something that's missing. I need excitement. I want to rebel against the norm like I did just a couple years after my debut when I joined D-Generation X. When I became the only woman in history to win the WWE Championship- twice, nonetheless. When I had the honor to fight The Undertaker at last year's Wrestlemania._

_However, with everything that's happened so far in the eight years I've been a part of this company, things can change and shake up the situation at any time possible. And I'm sure that something like that is gonna happen soon. Give or take a while, but it's still guaranteed to mix things up. Whether good or bad is still unknown to anyone and everyone._  
_And this time, I hope it can somehow involve me.  
_

* * *

[November 5th, 2012 - Survivor Series: 13 Days Away]

"Of course Punk would do something like that to his team," I drawled out to my good friend and one of my teammates for Survivor Series, Kane. "He's since become the kind of person to turn his tail and run so he doesn't get injured. He can't man up and face a challenge like a man anymore." The Championship had started to slip off my shoulder as I waved my arms around in mid-rant, so I had to hoist it back up so it didn't fall.  
The Big Red Monster on my side said nothing at first, just shrugging his shoulders in response. "Well, now who's taken his place?" he asked me.  
I scoffed, my lips making a 'pfft' noise. "Hell if I know," I replied. "Probably someone stupid like freakin'... Dolph Ziggler or Lilac Shorts."  
Kane couldn't hide the snicker that shot from his lips. 'Lilac Shorts' was the more or less "affectionate" nickname I had given to Damien Sandow, who had, without a doubt, been getting on everyone's nerves as of late. Obviously it was due to his horrid fashion sense. Bright-ass purple trunks and pink boot covers? On a guy? A guy who claimed to be the savior of all things "immature, to the point of probable downfall of society"?  
Yeah, he wasn't convincing anyone with that crap.  
Though I had a hunch it was Ziggler, since that pig Vickie had not only removed Punk from his team, but took out Ryback from ours. Now we were down one huge piece of muscle.  
"Maybe Mick can think of something to even up the playing field," I murmured, walking into my locker room after Kane and I had gone our separate ways. "At this rate, we'll need all the help we can get."

I learned later that night from Kane (who had gone and bugged Mick about the situation regarding our team) that Ziggler was indeed Punk's replacement, and that Ryback's spot would be determined by an online vote the following week.  
But between The Miz, Santino Marella, and Zack Ryder, I wasn't sure if any of them could be up to par with what our previous teammate had offered. Still, a body was a body, and it would even us up once again.  
"Let's just hope it works out for the best," I thought aloud to no one in particular, hitching a cab to the hotel.  
I made a mental note to text my dad before falling asleep that night. Had to make sure he was still doing alright with that arm of his. It'd at least give me some peace of mind.  
Because with the Pay-Per-View less than two weeks away, and everything still running through my head, my mind was anything but at peace.  
And if we weren't prepared, the shit was gonna hit the fan.


	2. Chapter One

_Predictability can make or break a matchup. It's good on one hand if it's your opponent who always does what you know is going to happen, but if you're the one who makes that mistake, the burden falls on you.__  
__This was why I personally needed an edge. Though I'm not the kind of fighter who solely relies on one thing for an advantage or victory; I'm more dependent on multiple factors. Beat them down physically, while picking at the little things that make them tick mentally. You have to take it all apart, break it down into smaller parts to analyze the things that make up a whole. Their strengths and weaknesses come together easier if you know what to expect beforehand.__  
__But sometimes, there are some things that no one knows about. Things that happen spontaneously, whether completely ad-libbed or geniously thought ahead. And no matter how prepared you are for anything and everything, there's always something that can manage to surprise everyone.__  
__Including me.  
_

* * *

__[November 12th, 2012 - Survivor Series = 6 Days Away]  
**  
**Mick had called for a meeting in the back locker room while some of the first matches were going on. Ryback's replacement was- surprisingly, The Miz- who had also surprisingly taken rather nicely to us.  
Besides him, our team's coach, and Randy Orton, I stood in between the two anger management buddies, Kane and Daniel Bryan (who I actually did believe looked like he had a goat face), so they wouldn't constantly be at each other's throats screaming "I AM THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS". Though I'll be the first to admit I quite enjoyed it, I had a feeling that The Hardcore Legend would want us to try and be as under control as possible.  
"So obviously it's been confirmed that Dolph Ziggler's the new leader of the other team," he explained to us, "And they're trying to determine a new replacement for Miz."  
I blew a strand of hair out of my face. "So now it's the team of fools," I stated more than asked. "They've already got Lilac Shorts and Cody Rhodes with his sad excuse for a mustache, what more do they need?" I added with a chuckle, "The thing looks more like a fuzzy caterpillar than facial hair to me."  
I heard Kane snort under his breath.  
"We need to be serious about this, Marty," Daniel piped in. "Knowing them, they're gonna pick the strongest person they know of that isn't already occupied with a match."  
Randy nodded. "With that logic I'd immediately think of Cena, but we all know he wouldn't associate with the enemy."  
My lip curled. "'Sides, he's probably found some way to weasel his way into that number one contender's match with Punk and Ryback," I added to his statement. "We all know he'd secretly do anything to get his hands on precious cargo." For emphasis, I patted the championship belt.  
The majority of the people in the room dropped the subject afterwards, moving back into what we had to expect at the Pay-Per-View. We'd all just have to wait until Vickie spilled the beans on who Miz's replacement was... if she ever did.  
Of course me, being the sneak that I was, wanted nothing more than to slip around and eavesdrop on the other team. I would've normally dragged my Big Red Monster friend with me, but for effectiveness, I tagged along with Randy, who had already headed out to do the same thing.  
"Marty, over here," he called in a whisper, ushering me over to the door to Vickie's office. I had to seriously fight the urge to crawl in order to make less noise, so I instead took long, silent strides to kneel next to him, pressing my ear to the door.  
"You hearing anything?" I glanced over my shoulder to eye him as he attempted to listen through the wall.  
He shook his head lightly. "You'll probably pick up better. Keep listening."  
Once more, I put the side of my face against the door. Of course it was sort of muffled with a barrier in between, but there were certain things I was still able to pick up, like Randy had predicted. I heard voices and a shuffling of objects, but one thing stood out more in particular than the rest- an accent.  
"Is that...?" The Viper muttered in what sounded like disbelief, but probably wasn't.  
"Barrett?" I spat in a whisper. "Fuckin' Wade Barrett? Damn it!" I stood up and opted to punch the wall, but Randy pulled me back and hid us both behind a corner.  
He let out a groan disguised as a sigh. "Well, now we know who we're up against," he almost spat. I could feel the hand he had on my shoulder tensing up.  
"Yeah… now we just gotta strategize," I replied. "They probably picked him for the same reasons you all picked me…"  
At that moment I knew that this was more than just serious for the other team. They had the whole intention to beat us down and make us look like a laughing-stock. But there was no way in hell I was letting that happen.  
I stood up from my position and tried extremely hard not to storm off towards the exit. "I'm gonna go train," was all that I said before I shut the door behind me.  
If they wanted a fight, then they got one.

[November 18th, 2012 - Survivor Series]  
**  
**I paced the back area, running my fingers through my hair. For once in my life, I decided to keep it down for the elimination match (I normally wore it up in a ponytail to keep it out of my face). "Shit, shit, shit…" I growled slightly, gritting my teeth and letting out a heavy sigh.  
Miz watched my antics while leaning up against the wall. "Calm down, Marty," he tried to tell me, "Don't overthink this too much."  
"She does this before most of the big matches she has," Kane spoke, patting my shoulder when I had stopped walking. "It's just so she can get some stress out. Being the only woman in the company actively wrestling men can do that sometimes."  
When it was time for our match, we all came out to our separate entrance themes. After Daniel and Kane came out, I saw the signal that it was time for me to follow them. As per usual, the worried look was swept off my face, replaced by a half-smile and twinkling eyes. Play it up, I told myself. Don't worry about anything right now; just play it up.

_**I can't tolerate your sadness,**__**  
**__**Cause it's me you are drowning (You're drowning me),**__**  
**__**I won't allow (allow) any happiness,**__**  
**__**Cause every time you laugh, I feel so (so weak)... guilty (guilty),**__**  
**__**I feel so guilty!  
**__**  
**_"And introducing next, from Greenwich, Connecticut, weighing 124 pounds, she is the WWE Champion... Marty Helmsley!"  
I emerged from the smoke and fog entrance, giving the sold-out, cheering crowd a grin and flashed them the devil horns before walking down the ramp and giving a few fans hi-fives. After playing it up a little more to them (standing on the turnbuckle and everything), I stood in between the other two men and waited for the rest of our team. When Miz and Randy had come out, Ziggler's team of fools started making their way towards the ring.  
I'd half-expected Cody to come out along with Sandow, but he didn't. In fact, he didn't even come out at all. I heard Jerry Lawler over at the announce table say that someone had injured him before the match and they had to find a last-minute replacement.  
Randy slowly gave me a look, a half-grin on his face. I put my hands up. "Just cause I don't like the guy doesn't mean I sacked him," I replied truthfully.  
The music that did play, however, caused me to lurch in my throat when the other person came out- mister macho lawyer man himself, David Otunga.  
"Oh, great," I muttered in Daniel's ear. "It's baby-oil man to the rescue."  
He snickered a little at my attempted humor, which brought a smile to my face. After both teams in their entirety were assembled on each side of the ring, Lilac Shorts Sandow took his place as the first man starting, to which we sent out Kane. It didn't take very long for the Big Red Monster to execute a chokeslam and get the pin on him, giving us a one-man advantage. Though it was only for a very short period of time, because not thirty seconds later, Ziggler hopped in and pinned him after his finisher.  
He sent me what looked to be something like an apologetic look of sorts as he took a spot outside the ring. Daniel took his place then, going against Otunga, who had been tagged in by Ziggler. Thankfully, he tapped out to Daniel's submission hold, which gave us another one-man advantage. But just like last time, it became evened up after Wade Barrett pinned Daniel.  
I wanted nothing more than to fight him, so with the approval of my team members, I was the next one to step in the ring. The two of us sized each other up, staring at each other with narrowed eyes and invisible smirks. We didn't keep this up forever though; he and I ran forward and locked arms, quickly going at each other's throats. He smacked me good with a couple clotheslines, I managed to land a Headcrusher on him... this continued for around four minutes before Wade tagged in Alberto Del Rio. Who of course, went right to putting me in the cross-armbreaker. I gritted my teeth and let out a scream (don't let anyone fool you, this move hurts like a bitch). It took a good amount of energy, but I was able to make it to the bottom rope.  
It was during this time that I motioned for Kane, who was still sitting out from elimination, to bring me the bottle of UV Red I had hidden under the ring. While the referee wasn't looking, the Tag Team Champion slid over the railing and quickly placed the bottle in my hand, to which I took a hearty swig and set it back down.  
After recovering, I turned around to find Alberto heading straight for me, to which it was time- I spit the alcohol in his face, the red liquid splattering his face and blinding him. I seized the moment then, grabbing him and performing my Vivid Red DDT. While I felt too exhausted to do so, I went for the pin anyway and cheered silently to myself when I heard the count of "one, two, three".  
Thankfully sensing that I needed a break, Miz tagged my outstretched hand just as Wade was sent back in. They went at it for a while as well, exchanging hits until Wade pinned him with his signature. Now once more even on both sides, Miz sat out and I sent myself back in against Wade. He and I locked up again, damaging one another until I planted a solid Painkiller right to his face and pinned him as well. I expected him to kick out, but my move got him good enough that he stayed on the ground.  
It was now two on one, Randy and I still in it for my team, while Ziggler was the only one left on the other side. I tagged in The Viper to give myself some more time to recover, and watched as he gave Ziggler an RKO, which to our disappointment, he kicked out of. Frustrated as ever, he gave him another one, but again, he kicked out. Ziggler landed his signature on Randy, and as he was about to go for the pin, I grabbed the bottle I had set aside once more, taking another swig of alcohol. Before the opposing team's leader could pin Randy, I slid in the ring and pulled Ziggler off. He made an attempt to Zig-Zag me, but I spat the red liquid in his face, blinding him and sliding back out of the ring (as much as I wanted to be the one to finish him off, I wasn't the legal fighter in the match). Thankfully, my team member could sense it and tagged me in. I whirled the temporarily handicapped Ziggler around and sent him tumbling towards the turnbuckle. He stumbled back towards the center of the ring as I readied myself for a Pedigree, but out of nowhere he gave me a swift boot to the gut and slammed me on the ground. That, unfortunately, was enough to do me in, as he pinned me one, two, three.  
Randy then, as pissed off as ever, jumped off the top rope to give Ziggler a mid-air RKO, but was also met with his undoing by a superkick. After another heartwrenching count of one, two, three, the bell rung for Ziggler's victory.  
Dejected by the loss, I picked up my trusty alcohol bottle once more and took a long, hearty swig. I swallowed half of it to numb my brain, but spat the rest at everyone's feet (I very much enjoyed watching Sandow's reaction to my "abhorring, primal ways") before making the walk back up the ramp.

My eyes were now glued to the monitor in the locker room I was occupying (not alone, of course; I was currently sharing it with Kane and Daniel at the moment). Right now, all my focus was on who would be the next person to face me for the WWE Championship. Punk, Ryback and Cena were all beating each other down in the ring, holding nothing back, all because they wanted the chance to face me and win the title.  
The Tag Team Champions were watching my every movement- tapping my foot, fingers drumming on the table, the opposite hand patting my belt every so often.  
"Hey Marty," Daniel cleared his throat in an attempt to break the silence. "This might sound a little weird, but... do you have a preference as to who you want to win that match?"  
His question was actually quite interesting. I shrugged a shoulder in response. "Not exactly," I told him. "With the way these guys are kicking the snot out of each other, they'd all be worthy opponents at the stage they're at in this match." I held up a finger. "However, there are also reasons they don't deserve it just yet. Cena, obviously, has had more than enough opportunities to capture the title hold it. He doesn't need another shot." I held up another finger. "Ryback, due to the fact that he's still relatively new in the company with his new identity and hasn't exactly earned his spot as champion material just yet." One more finger. "And Punk, because like respect, this title shot is earned fairly. And last time I checked, he can't even do that anymore."  
It was five minutes after I spoke those words that I heard the bell ring to signal the end of the match, and I locked eyes with the victor and number one contender- who was, no surprise, my former best friend. Punk had his arms raised in the air.  
However, while he was celebrating his win in the ring, the cameras panned to three individuals running down from the crowd, dressed in all black- shirts, pants and boots- now sliding into the ring and beating up all three of them- Punk, Ryback and Cena. In a matter of seconds, they had all been leveled to the ground.  
My eyes wide, I glanced at the group of men who looked to be no older than myself. One had dark blonde hair to his ears, slightly spiked in the back and framing his ears, with a serious face and dark green eyes. The one to his right had two-toned hair- blonde on one side, dark brown on the other, that reached down to just past his shoulders. Some hints of facial hair were starting to show on his chin and sides of his face, and he bore a somewhat sadistic grin on his face that made his hazel eyes stand out. The final one was the tallest of the group, with tanned skin and wavy dark brown hair that looked almost black falling down to his chest. He sported a moustache-beard combo and had eyes the same color of his hair.  
The crowd booed them all as they raised their arms to the sky.  
But the only thing that went through my mind as this was all happening was- who were these guys? Why were they here? What was their purpose?  
And if they did that to the competitors of the WWE Championship's number one contender's match... would I be next?


	3. Chapter Two

_Some instances in life call for action. The kind of action that forces you to be the one to take the leadership position and seek things out for yourself. One of those times where you actually have to see it to believe it.__  
__There are times where you think people aren't working alone. Where they obviously had someone watching their back. Though maybe not directly, either way, it was a team of one sole person guarded by mercenaries.__  
__I've had those feelings since Survivor Series. Things have started getting weirder and stranger, and the suspicions I have that revolve around what I think the matter is are broadening. Something isn't settling around here. Ever since the three number one contender's match participants got pummeled by those three new guys...  
__  
__I can't help but shake the feeling that I'm no longer safe._

* * *

[November 26th, 2012]

It had been eight days since Survivor Series. The Monday right after, Punk was celebrating his victory of becoming number one contender, and Ryback had come out to interrupt. However, before he could get to the ring, those same three guys from Survivor Series had come out again and leveled him to the ground.  
As appalled as I was that they were targeting people like this, I was curious. My life needed a splash or two of excitement... maybe facing these guys in a match would just do the trick.  
"Hey Liv, do you know who those guys are?" I asked my best friend and fellow WWE Diva Olivia, who was seated on the couch in my locker room.  
The brunette looked up from her book. "Hm? What guys?" she asked me.  
I sat beside her. "Y'know, the group of three that have been randomly attacking people since Survivor Series. Those guys," I explain to her.  
Her face lights up in recognition. "Oh, them!" She replied. "They're actually from NXT. Guess they somehow found their way here for one reason or another."  
That did manage to shock me at first. What business wrestlers from NXT have on RAW?  
My next question suddenly spilled from my mouth uncontrollably, out of pure instinct and once more, curiosity- "Do you know their names?"  
She didn't give me a look that screamed suspicion or anything. She just pressed a finger to her mouth in recollection. "If I remember correctly... they're Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns."  
I gestured with my hands to try and ask her which one was which, but she had since glued her eyes to the TV to watch the next match. That question would probably have to wait until another time.  
I spoke their names in my head, then whispered them aloud under my breath. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns...  
My curiosity was peaked once more when I saw that Michael Cole of all people was actually somewhere conducting an interview with the three guys from NXT. They were seated in chairs placed in a neat line, now sporting black padded vests over their usual black shirts. The dirty-blonde haired one was on the first chair, the two-toned haired one was in the middle, and the one with the long dark brown hair was on the end.  
I was soon finding out which one was which as each of them was "introduced" by Cole. The dark blonde haired one, who was obviously the mouth of the group, was Dean Ambrose (I could tell because he interrupted Cole while he was talking). His voice, deep and smooth, could draw nearly anyone in. I almost chuckled at his simple response when Cole asked him if he was working for Punk because of the attack on Ryback. "Nope."  
"So... if you're not working for Punk, then why are you here?" the commentator asked, to which the one in the middle- the one with the two-toned hair, who I figured out was Seth Rollins, spoke up to answer. His voice wasn't as deep as Dean's, but... it was somehow quite nice to listen to. I had a feeling he was the brains of the group; the way he spoke was intellectual and made me edge my chair closer to the monitor.  
It was what he said at the end that got me thinking. "We are a shield from injustice in the WWE."  
This left the muscle of the group- the long-haired one on the far end, Roman Reigns, as the only one who had yet to speak. When he did, it was short and sweet, but his voice in particular was the one that made my eyes widen. "When I wanna say something, then I'll say it," he spoke.  
I inched my chair closer again.  
Once more, Dean brought up what Seth said about being a shield of injustice, then finalized it in a sentence. "We are The Shield."

The end of the night came faster for me than I would have liked, but I was a champion, and I had to train. I felt bad for having to leave and not be around to support Liv in her match later tonight, but as I said, training was in order- especially since my former best friend was my opponent.  
After packing up my bag and making sure I had everything, I made my way out and headed down the hall. I pulled out my phone to send a quick text to my dad, but apparently I just remembered that texting while doing something else also applied to walking as well- my reason for saying so was because as I turned the corner, I found myself ramming right into something solid, warm... and slightly padded.  
I practically bounced away, locking eyes with the three members of The Shield who were now standing in front of me (the one I had bumped into was Dean). For a while, they said nothing, and I said nothing. But obviously, someone had to break the silence sooner or later.  
"Move," I told them simply. "You're blocking the hall."  
Dean raised an eyebrow at me, while Seth glanced from him back to me, and Roman just stood there with his arms crossed. Eventually, the mouth of The Shield stepped out of the way to make enough space for a walkway. I gave them a nod as thanks (if anyone would call it that), and started walking once more. I heard their footsteps going the opposite way. I however, barely got twenty feet before I heard a voice.  
"You dropped something."  
I turned sharply just in time to catch my championship belt being tossed to me, landing neatly in my arms. I figured it must have fallen out of my bag when I had bumped into Dean. Looking up to see who was kind enough to actually give it back instead of taking it and running off with it, I was surprised beyond belief to see the familiar face framed by two-toned hair locking eyes with me. Probably not wanting to stick around much longer, he returned my gaze with a nod and a half-smirk before disappearing around the corner.  
Seth Rollins, a member of The Shield, had given me back my title belt.  
Which technically, meant that they now knew I was the WWE Champion.  
I exited the arena and left in a matter of seconds, trying extremely hard not to picture the enormous target that, more than likely, was now painted on my back.


	4. Chapter Three

_I am in deep shit.  
You wouldn't deny feeling that way either if you were sure the enemy had just found their next target. I should have zipped my bag up all the way instead of letting it remain open. Dropping that belt was a huge mistake, because now, The Shield knows who the champion is- me.  
I'm unaware of how I can keep myself on the down-low now, because of that. The champion is one of the main people that everyone wants to pay attention to. So when it comes to my situation with them, if they decide to come after me, I'll just have to hit them back with everything I've got._

_I am the WWE Champion. And I will not go down without a fight._

* * *

[December 3rd, 2012 - TLC = 13 Days Away]

The multiple attacks and threats made by The Shield continued every day a show would go live. They still were abiding by the purpose of stopping "injustices" that were present in the company. Anything- literally anything- that they don't agree with that doesn't seem "right", they come out and put a stop to it.  
And that's just to make a long story short. It's actually much more complicated than it really seems. They have a bigger motive than just that. I myself have been watching my back much more often than usual, keeping the title with me at all times. I could never be too careful...

Kane and Daniel were scheduled to be in the first match of the night against the Prime Time Players, Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. These guys could actually be pretty funny, but they did get on my nerves sometimes. My two friends had asked me to accompany them to the ring, and I obliged. Since I was already going to be the color commentator for the match, I didn't see the problem with it. Once more, I had kept my hair down. Plus I was clad in just an **In Flames** band shirt and skinny jeans, seeing as I wasn't scheduled for an actual match tonight.  
The Big Red Monster's pyro went off, and I made my way down the ramp beside them, championship belt hoisted over my shoulder. I gave them each a pat on the back, then made my way over to the announce table, where Jerry and Cole had a headset ready for me on the far right chair.  
"And what a pleasure it is right now, everyone," Cole started when the camera light was on. "For this particular match tonight, Jerry Lawler and I are joined by the WWE Champion, the beautiful, tenacious daughter of the game, Marty Helmsley."  
I nodded, a grin on my face. "Wow, Michael," I replied. "Never knew you knew how to correctly compliment a woman."  
To my left, Jerry let out a hearty chuckle, nudging Cole in the side with his elbow. "She gotcha good, man," he laughed, to which the other man frowned. "So Marty, tell us-" the Hall of Famer looked to me again. "What's your opinion about having to face Punk for the title without even knowing when he's actually gonna envoke that challenge?"  
I paid no attention to Jerry, for my eyes were focused on something else completely- standing at the top of the crowd, watching the Tag Team Champions, were the members of The Shield.  
Kane motioned for a microphone as the crowd spotted them and started chanting, "YOU SUCK!" over and over again.  
"Instead of standing up there like a pack of dogs," he spat to them, "why don't you actually come down here and face us like men?"  
During all of this, I had stood up from my seat at the commentator's table and started slowly walking toward the guard rail, my eyes never leaving the three men up at the top of the crowd. Still, even after Kane's threat of sorts, the Shield never moved an inch.  
Darren and Titus then began making their way out to the ring, so the Tag Team Champions had to turn their attention back to their main opponents.  
Throughout the course of the match, I could spot the three other wrestlers edging their way down the rafters, closer to the railing. Unconsciously, I held my title closer to my chest.  
"So this is where you are," a voice reached my ear, to which I all but jumped out of my chair and turned to see Seth, two-toned hair and all, leaning against the barrier with a tiny grin on his face. "Good to see your belt's still in one piece."  
I took the headset off and set it to the side, turning to the Shield member with an exaggerated sigh. "And why, may I ask, do you care so much about me and my WWE title?" I retorted, my scowl deepening.  
He shrugged, his lip curling up to play along with the gesture. "Well, you're the champion, am I right?"  
"That doesn't answer my question."  
"All in due time, champion," he winked. "All in due time."  
I had to stop myself from gagging at his poor advances. If they were advances. "So," I tried changing the subject, drumming my nails on the table. "What business do you have out here?"  
Seth glanced to my best friends, the smaller of which had kicked out of a pin from Titus and tagged in Kane. "A lesson, but moreso a message of sorts," he told me. "This company is crawling with injustice, and we are here to set things right."  
His response caused me to raise an eyebrow. "Message?" I held back the disgust in my voice, disguised by confusion. I knew what he was talking about. It was pretty obvious what was about to go down after the match was over with. "What the hell kind of message is that?"  
I saw Daniel pin Darren out of the corner of my eye as the bell rang for the Tag Team Champions' victory. "You'll see," he told me. Then, quickly glancing back my way, he pointed to me. "Nice shirt by the way, doll," he grinned before hopping over the barrier.  
My lip curled. Did he just call me "doll"?  
Ohhh, was he gonna get an ass-kicking later.  
...Then again, why not all of them, and why not now?  
It took only a second of delay until I catapulted off my chair and ran around the ring to where Dean and Roman were about to go to work on Daniel, sliding inbetween the three of them to protect one half of the Tag Team Champions.  
Roman stared at me with his fists clenched, while Dean looked genuinely shocked with widened eyes. "You wanna get to him?" I growled, "Then you'll have to go through me."  
The blonde leader's eyes narrowed, while the tattooed member to his right moved forward just a little, but stopped. I glared again.  
"Go on, hit me," I sneered. "I dare you."  
It was a staring contest for a good thirty seconds, until something hit me.  
I was an idiot and left my title on my chair.  
My head snapped around to see the last of the Shield attempting to head toward the table. Quickly abandoning Daniel for the moment, I slid through the ring and beat Seth to the belt, grabbing it with one hand and giving him a good smack to the face with the other. Dean and Roman were at his side immediately, taking hold of each of his arms and helping him up, climbing over the barrier.  
Standing as tall as I could in the ring, I picked up the microphone that Kane had dropped earlier and held it to my lips. "Before I forget, here's a message for you, Seth," I spat, pointing at him and the other members of the Shield. "Don't ever... ever... call me 'doll'... again."  
They made their way through the crowd, the audience chanting my name in approval. And as I held my title belt in the air, 'Only For The Weak' blasted through the speakers as I helped my two best friends to their feet and walked them up the ramp.

Later on in the night, I had to witness Punk being a dick as usual, and also denying that he had anything to do with the Shield. While in the ring with Miz taking a lie detector test of sorts, a particular question comes up- if he sided with Brad Maddox (the referee who was now Vickie Guererro's assistant) at Hell in a Cell, as well as The Shield from the few previous nights. I would have thought he was going to refuse answering, but I saw him open his mouth to start. Even so, before that happened, a familiar body pulled Miz out of the ring, joined by two others who began to beat him down. Dean, Seth, and Roman were at it again.  
Snapping my head around to the monitor, I saw my two best friends running out to fend off the other two members, but it quickly turned into chaos. They couldn't handle them on their own.  
I had to go help them. But I would need serious backup.  
I scrambled down the hall to the men's locker room, flinging it open and breathing a sigh of relief at the sole person there. "Ryback! Kane and Daniel... The Shield... I need your help! Quickly!"  
He didn't have to be told twice. Following me out the door and down the ramp, he took care of Dean and Seth, while I climbed in the ring to work on getting Roman. I did my best to grab him by the shoulder and yank him off of Daniel, glaring at him when he met my eyes.  
"Enlighten me on this 'injustice' shit someday," I spat, jumping up and delivering a solid headcrusher to him.  
By this time, Kane had made his way into the ring, dragging Seth behind him. "You help him get rid of Ambrose," he told me. "We'll take care of these two."  
Only a few minutes later, The Shield were beaten down, scampering their way out of the arena's carnage- Ryback on a ladder chanting "FEED ME MORE!", Kane swinging a chair around, Daniel screaming, "YES! YES! YES!" and myself on the remains of a broken table. Though as we all celebrated cleaning house of the Hounds of Justice, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a certain man was nowhere to be seen.  
Punk was gone. Again.


End file.
